Land-sea Amphibiousness: A Study of Islandness in China’s Fringing Island Societies

Islandness serves as a pivotal theoretical concept in island studies, essential for understanding the distinctiveness and significance of islands. It should not be reduced to a universal or static abstraction of common insular traits; rather, it embodies internal tensions and diversity. A comprehensive grasp of islandness requires deep engagement with varied island types across regions, examining local social developments and historical contexts to apprehend the core and essence of island societies, while situating islands within their broader regional contexts to understand their relationships with surrounding mainlands and seas. Through long-term ethnographic fieldwork on Tao Island, located off China’s eastern coast, this study reveals how both mainland agrarian traditions, represented by land, and maritime influences collectively shape fringing island societies. Land reclamation acted as a catalyst for Tao Island’s social formation while fostering internal and external solidarity. When natural disasters necessitated livelihood adaptation, village cadres led the community in embracing mariculture—an integration of land and sea—enabling residents to overcome crisis. The Tao Island case exemplifies the dual terrestrial-maritime character of fringing island societies, which this article conceptualizes as ‘land-sea amphibiousness’. This conclusion arises not from a mainland-centric perspective, but from empirical engagement with the island’s social realities. Carefully examining the history and social transformations of island societies can thus advance renewed critical reflections on islandness.